Library News Blog

Larry Sullivan’s review of the Morgan Library and Museum’s exhibition, Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul was published in the Spring 2014 newsletter of the Society for the History of Authorship, Publishing, and Authorship (SHARP). His review of the Morgan Library’s exhibition Marcel Proust and Swann’s Way: 100th Anniversary appeared in the Spring 2013 sharp newsletter.

Ellen Belcher completed her dissertation Embodiment of the Halaf: Sixth Millennium Figurines from Northern Mesopotamia and graduated with a Ph.D. from the Art History and Archaeology Department of Columbia University on October 15, 2014. In January 2014, she presented the paper “Identifying Late Halaf in the Syrian Jazirah” at the annual conference of the British Association of the Ancient Near East at Reading, UK. With Karina Croucher (Bradford University, UK), she co-presented the paper “Exchanges of Identity in Prehistoric Figurines” at the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, in Basel, Switzerland on June 9, 2014. She delivered another talk on “Identifying Female in the Halaf: Prehistoric Agency and Modern Interpretations” at the European Association of Archaeologists Annual Conference in Istanbul, Turkey on September 12, 2014.

Marta Bladek published “Bibliometrics Services and the Academic Library: Meeting the Emerging Needs of the Campus Community” in College & Undergraduate Libraries (21.3/4).

Julie Turley’s short story “Testing” appeared in the summer 2014 issue of Gambling the Aisle. Her story “Night People” is in the current issue of the literary journal Phantom Drift.

Detail from Lawes’ edition of “Fairburns Abstract of the New Metropolitan Police Act, Passed June 19th, 1829...”

From the Fall 2014 newsletter

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton has consistently stated that he follows Sir Robert Peel’s nine principles of policing. These ethical standards of policing were set forth in early nineteenth century England and include the idea of community policing, the proper use of force, the protection of citizens, and proper and civilized ways that the police interact with the public. Peel, the “father of modern policing,” was Prime Minister of Great Britain twice and a politician and statesman all of his life. Peel created London’s police force in 1829. The first police were almost immediately termed “Bobbies” or less generously, “Peelers.” The creation of the police force was promulgated in “The Metropolitan Police Act of 1829.” This information is not new to historians of England or of the police. But we have found in the Warden Lewis Lawes of Sing Sing Archives in the Lloyd Sealy Library a unique “grangerized” edition of “Fairburns Abstract of the New Metropolitan Police Act, Passed June 19th, 1829...” This is an extra-illustrated copy of a common pamphlet. The term “grangerize” comes from James Granger (1723-76), whose five-volume Biographical History of England included many blank leaves so purchasers could illustrate the volume to their own liking. The technique was used as early as the 17th century, but the term “grangerized” stuck. Our fascinating copy includes Warden Lawes’s bookplate (with the prison librarian bearing Lawes’s likeness), a manuscript from Peel, an illustration of a “Metropolitan Police Man,”, five steel engravings of Peel, and a colored engraving of a “Bobbie” questioning a young street urchin that he accuses of loitering (left). This outstanding little book illustrates once again the treasures found in the Special Collections Division of the Lloyd Sealy Library.

Also new: charging hubs on multiple tables throughout the library! These have power outlets and USB outlets (for using your own cables).

In our last In-Library Use Survey, students gave us the lowest ratings for power outlet availability in the Library. It was a big problem. So Prof. Karen Okamoto (ILL Librarian) put in a Tech Fee proposal, compared different products, and now have many more outlets for students to use. Power up, John Jay!

The Digital Loeb Classical Library is an interconnected, fully searchable, perpetually growing, virtual library of Greek and Latin literature including all the classics. The Lloyd Sealy Library has the full print collection (located by the Niederhoffer Lounge), but now you can access the Digital Loeb Classical Library — from anywhere you have access to the internet.

From Aeschylus to Aristotle, Herodotus to Homer, the Loeb Classical Library has long been the trusted resource for reading Greek & Latin literature in the original side by side with the modern-day English translation.

Check out authentic 50th Anniversary editions of Li'l Jay from the Library for a week at a time. Ask for a Li'l Jay at the Reserve Desk and check him out using your John Jay ID. Then snap some pics of Li'l Jay anywhere and with anyone, sharing using the hashtags #jjcliljay and #jjc50!

Rules:

Check Li'l Jay out for a week at a time from the Library Reserve Desk. (If he's overdue, you'll get a library fine of $1.00/day.) Take good care of him!

Share Li'l Jay on social media with the John Jay community using #jjcliljay and #jjc50.

The CUNY+ Catalog is undergoing a scheduled upgrade to serve you better. The catalog contains records for our books, ebooks, and other media holdings. The upgrade is overseen by the CUNY Office of Library Services.

Search is not available July 10–12, 2014.

Renewals and item requests are not available July 10–24, 2014. All items that would have had a due date during this interval have been given extended loan periods and are now due July 25 or later.

You will still be able to check out and return books at the Library's Circulation Desk during open hours. Please note that during the upgrade period, the circulation status of books as shown in the catalog will not be up to date and may be incorrect.

We are sorry for any inconvenience! The upgraded catalog will be more reliable and offer you better service.

Access to digital resources like academic journals is not affected. Note that the John Jay Library offers thousands of ebooks that you can read anywhere at any time.

Now available at John Jay!

Summertime can be the perfect time to catch up on reading and learn a new language! Have you ever regretted not taking the time to learn your ancestral language? Are you planning a vacation and wishing you could converse like a local? Or, are you a linguaphile looking for your next challenge?

Please keep in mind that although you can access your account from any device --including smartphones and tablets -- you must always sign in through the link on the library website. You cannot access this product through apps.

The Digital National Security Archive provides access to primary documents relating to US foreign and military policy since 1945. These documents are from the National Security Archive, a non-profit research organization founded in 1985 by journalists and scholars to check rising government secrecy.

The database contains over 95,000 records -- more than 650,000 pages -- of original documents most of which were formerly classified and unavailable. Although the documents may be available in Presidential collections or other archives, this database allows you to cross-search across all documents by collection, subject or date or to search the full text by keywords.